Rockets missing too many layups, wide-open shots

Carmelo Anthony (7) and the Rockets rank 29th in field-goal percentage on shots one to three feet from the rim.

Photo: Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

When Mike D’Antoni followed losses to the Jazz and Clippers with declarations the Rockets would solve their early-season issues and become the team they expected to be, the coach’s message was not designed for fans, critics or anyone beyond his locker room.

The prediction had been delivered to members of his team. Because among the problems to correct has been the way the Rockets have reacted to their struggles, even on the offensive end, where they are certain to excel.

Asked how much the message was with his players in mind, D’Antoni said: “All of it. It’s (for) everybody. A lot of our problem is we’re a new team with new guys having to figure it out with high expectations. That can crumble you a little bit and take your swag from you. We have to get that back.”

The Rockets’ greatest issues have been on the defensive end. All of Sunday’s video session and nearly all of the practice to follow were to solve defensive issues.

Yet whether pressing because of the slow start or feeling the pressure to keep pace with all the scoring they have allowed, the Rockets have struggled to make layups and wide-open shots.

That can offer a mixed blessing. They are getting great shots, indicating they don’t need to change things offensively. But if there is no need to change the offense, improving it becomes about confidence and attitude, qualities more nebulous than reworking schemes.

“It hasn’t been a fun game for us,” guard Eric Gordon said. “Even if we do miss them, it’s the vibe of the game where we let our defense affect us. Those things can be in your head and complicate things when you are on the offensive end.

“Just have the mentality to start to have fun again. The more you have fun on the court and trust each other defensively, things happen easily on offense.”

The Rockets were the NBA’s top offensive team through most of last season, with the Warriors moving past them on the final day, after two weeks during which the Rockets cruised with the league’s top record assured.

This season, they rank in a tie for 19th, averaging 107 points per 100 possessions.

“We all know we can score the ball,” forward Carmelo Anthony said. “We will score the ball. We’ll make shots. It’s just small things on the defensive end: lack of communication, not talking, and being in the wrong spots. We will correct them.

“Kind of just get our energy back, get our morale back, get our spirit back and get a win. I think the most important thing is to go out there and do what we have to do on Tuesday (vs. Trail Blazers at home) and go from there.”

A better mood could come with improved defense, by far the Rockets’ top priority, and would help offensively. But the Rockets’ usually reliable scoring prowess has been an issue, too. They have missed the shots they are built to take.

Though the Rockets take the most 3-pointers in the NBA, they have also taken the ninth-most shots from 1 to 3 feet from the rim, according to basketball-reference.com. They rank 28th in field-goal percentage on those shots.

“We don’t change it,” D’Antoni said of his offense. “That’s where you have to get your swag and your confidence. That’ll change. We’re going to be really good offensively. I’m not worried about that.

“Compared to last year, we are getting to the rim a lot more and we’re finishing a lot worse. Layups, maybe hard layups but still layups, we’re finishing at a 20 percent less rate.”

D’Antoni said if the Rockets had just made layups, they’d be 4-1 instead of 1-4.

Just as damaging, the Rockets are making only 35.6 percent of their shots defined by the NBA as “wide open” (with the closest defender more than 6 feet away), the second-worst shooting on those shots in the league. They are 15th in the numbers of wide-open shots taken per game, giving them an average of 13 misses with no defender near.

With 45.3 percent of their shots coming from beyond the 3-point line, they don’t have to make a great percentage of “wide-open” shots to make a great difference. Improving defensively would bring its rewards but could be felt and counted on the other end if it benefits confidence or, as Gordon put it, “the vibe of the game.”

Until then, D’Antoni will insist things will turn around, hoping to be convincing enough to get that started.

“We’re going to get through this,” D’Antoni said. “We’re going to be fine. We’re going to be a really good team. Now, we’ll see how good we can be.”

Jonathan Feigen has been the Rockets beat writer since 1998 and a basketball nut since before Willis Reed limped out for Game 7. He became a sports writer because the reporter that was supposed to cover the University of Delaware basketball team decided to instead play one more season of college lacrosse and has never looked back.

Feigen, who has won APSE, APME and United States Basketball Writers Association awards from El Campo to Houston, came to Texas in 1981 to cover the Rice Birds, was Sports Editor in Garland before moving to Dallas to cover everything from the final hurrah of the Southwest Conference to SMU after the death penalty.

After joining the Houston Chronicle in 1990, Feigen has covered the demise of the SWC, the rise of the Big 12 and the Rockets at their championship best.